WHAT WILL BE THE POPULAR COSTUME TRENDS OF THIS YEAR?
By Mia Wise, Staff Writer
When I watched Suicide Squad for the first time two summers ago, I knew Harley Quinn and the Joker would be popular costumes the following Halloween because of their distinct looks and the attention their characters received from movie-goers. When it comes to Halloween costumes, it’s fairly easy to tell what costumes you might see in the poorly lit, dirty basement of a fraternity house during Halloweekend.
A good indicator of what everyone will be wearing are the movies and television shows that have garnered the most attention in the past year.
Superheroes are popular costumes almost every year because DC and Marvel continue to make movie after movie about their characters. “Wonder Woman” will be very popular this year along with “Spiderman”. Both movies, along with “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” dominated the box office this summer.
Superhero costumes are also popular because they can be versatile, as there are so many different versions of the characters and their outfits. There’s the comic book Wonder Woman, the 1975 television show Wonder Woman, and the 2017 Wonder Woman. Almost every Halloween store carries the costumes and accessories, so it’s easy to put these looks together.
“I think a lot of popular costumes could be scary, since there have been so many scary movies out this year. Maybe a doll or anything with masks,” junior Cat Ross said.
“It”, the movie adaption of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, opened in September, making clowns a very popular costume. This season of “American Horror Story” also featured clowns, which makes this a highly anticipated look for Halloween.face
The characters from the Netflix original show “Stranger Things” were very popular costumes last year, especially Eleven. The highly anticipated second season premieres on Oct. 27,which will spark interest in the characters again. These characters’ outfits are easier than other costumes because they wear regular clothing.
Another television show that has sparked interest is “Riverdale,” an updated version of the Archie comics. There are hundreds of tutorials on YouTube on how to get the different character’s looks, which is an indicator that the characters are going to be popular costumes this year. Each character has their own distinct style, so the costumes are easy to put together.
“Cartoon characters are going to be popular this year because people seem very nostalgic about their favorite childhood cartoon and are prepping to dress up as those characters,” freshman Meyer Moll said.
Nickelodeon partnered with the Halloween chain store Spirit Halloween to release a line of costumes inspired by 90s cartoons. Some shows included in the line are “Rugrats” and “Hey Arnold”.
“I have no idea what I’m going to dress as for Halloween. My friend and I are going to two parties, so I think we’re going to try to go as vampires for one of them and bunnies for the other, so we don’t have to buy anything,” freshman Courtney Beyer said.
There are many Halloween costumes that are easy, cheap, and timeless, which is perfect for college students. Costumes like cats, vampires, bunnies, football players, witches, angels, devils, etc. will always be staple looks for Halloween parties.
Halloween costumes can be a source of stress if you wait until the last minute, but if you plan ahead they can be a good way to express yourself or an outlet for creativity.
Illustration by Mary Jane DeCarlo
